


The End

by Gardngoyle



Category: Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-12
Updated: 2020-09-12
Packaged: 2021-03-06 21:15:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,581
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26415496
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gardngoyle/pseuds/Gardngoyle
Summary: The last few moments of Trespasser - and what happened next.I did not think the violence was graphic enough to warrant a warning.But in all fairness - this is a very intensely emotion scene. Especially if you are deeply attached to any of these characters.
Relationships: Blackwall | Thom Rainier/Female Lavellan, Iron Bull/Dorian Pavus
Comments: 2
Kudos: 22





	The End

**Author's Note:**

> I was going to wait to post this one, but my daughter - who is also my beta reader and the person who encouraged me to take up a fan-fiction pen - specifically asked me for it.

Every time Vhenaria stepped through one of those infernal mirrors, Thom had a moment when he just couldn’t breathe. She refused to let him go first. The Lady insisted it was her responsibility as Inquisitor, but Thom knew that wasn’t it. She was just that blasted fearless and she extended that confidence to the three men she had chosen as constant companions and willing shields. Vhenaria seemed to believe that their little family was invincible and nothing he or Bull or even Dorian could say would change her mind. 

When Thom had voiced his concerns, she had smiled and kissed him and said, ‘ _Ma’arlath_ , when was the last time you were even scratched in a fight?’ It was true. Even against dragons, Thom seldom took any damage more than the occasional bruise, and it had been months since she or Dorian or Bull had been badly hurt. 

Now they were in this blasted place where the only way to travel was through ‘mirrors’ that were really doors. Worse yet, Vhenaria was in constant pain. She was trying to keep it to herself, to not upset the three of them. But they all knew. The Mark was finally killing her. Could it be stopped? Thom could only pray to the Maker that there would be time for Dorian to figure out how to save her.

He tried not to dwell on it. 

Vhenaria stepped through the Eluvian and Thom stepped forward to follow as close as the mirror would allow. But instead of feeling the surface of the mirror give way and wash over him like cool water, he banged into a hard surface. For a heartbeat he didn’t believe what he was seeing. 

The mirror was dark. 

Closed.

_No._

Bull crashed into Thom’s back, 'What’s the hold up, Big Guy?'

‘The door,’ Thom's lips were numb, ‘it closed behind her.’ Thom pressed on the smooth dark surface of the Eluvian.

‘What?’ Dorian stepped forward. Thom gave him room. Dorian examined the mirror thoughtfully. ‘I don’t understand. There’s no reason for the Eluvian to close….unless it was closed from the other side.’

‘Vhenaria is on the other side,’ Thom was failing at calm, ‘Open the bloody thing.’ 

‘While I am quite good at the whole ‘magic thing,’ I can’t just open an Eluvian because I want to,’ Dorian snapped, ‘If it was closed from the other side...I fear it may need to be reopened from the other side.’ Thom made a fist, but Dorian interrupted the blow, ‘You know, Big Man, if you break it, opening it from either side will no longer be an option.’

‘Take a breath, Big Guy,’ said Bull putting one hand on Rainier’s arm and turning his attention to the mage, ‘Kadan, is there anything that can help us in any of those books you’ve been picking up along the way?’

‘I will look, but I’m not promising anything.’ Dorian sat on a nearby rock and started quickly flipping through the pages he had collected in the remains of the library.

Thom stared at the mirror, one hand flat on the the blackened glass. Bull watched Thom closely. Rainier was a man on the edge. Barely holding it together. Bull didn’t want to consider how he would feel if Dorian had been the first through the mirror and it had closed behind him. 

‘She’ll be all right,’ Bull said as convincingly as he could, ‘She can handle herself.’ He said with a calm he didn't feel. The Boss had somehow become as important to him as the Chargers. Without her...Bull looked over at Dorian. Without her, Dorian would be devastated. And Rainier would be dangerously inconsolable. 

The quiet stretched, minutes passed, and Thom leaned his forehead against the Eluvian. This was too much for him. They were already banged up and exhausted from the fight with Saarath and chasing Solas through the mirror maze. Had Solas closed the Eluvian? If Solas hurt her, mage or no, Thom would snap the elf’s arms off like kindling. Behind him he could hear the rustle of the pages in Dorian’s hands and Bull pacing restlessly. Thom focused on his own breathing, trying desperately to stay calm. He had promised not to leave her side. He meant it. Thom had decided to wait until after the Exalted Council to ask her to marry him. He would build her a house, anywhere in Thedas she wanted. After everything they had been through together, if something happened to her now…

Thom abruptly found himself falling through the door. His arms pinwheeled and he tried to step forward to regain his balance, but he tripped on the edge of the mirror and fell through in a heap. Bull and Dorian stepped through as Thom regained his feet. ‘Very smooth, Rainier,’ said Bull, ‘I know I’d feel safer if I were The Bo-’ the jibe died on Bull’s lips. 

It was Vhenaria. She was screaming. They ran towards the sound. Almost as jarring as the wail of the Inquisitor’s voice, were the petrified figures of Qunari crowding the clearing. What in the Void had happened here? The three climbed a staircase at the far side of the clearing and found Vhenaria, kneeling on the ground. Her left arm was sizzling green fire all the way to elbow. None of them could believe what they were seeing. Her hand was blackened and seemed to be flaking away, like embers rising from a camp fire.

They were at her side in the space of a heartbeat. Thom dropped his sword and shield and knelt at her right side taking her hand. ‘I am here, My Lady.’

Dorian knelt at her left, examining her arm without touching her. ‘Hold on, Dove. It will be all right.’ 

Bull knelt near her feet out of the way but close enough to help. Vhenaria wasn’t screaming anymore but she was gasping and crying and gritting her teeth against the pain, ‘Help,’ she squeezed Thom hand hard, ‘Please. _Fenedhis_ , it hurts.’ 

Dorian and Thom looked at her hand, flaking away, then looked up at each other. ‘It will stop at her elbow,’ Thom stated with a surety he did not feel. 

‘Possibly. I can’t be sure,’ Dorian paused, ‘Do you want to risk it??’

Bull had seen what was needed next, and moved around behind Dorian, a short knife in his hand. Without a word Bull expertly cut through the sleeve of The Boss’ leather armor and peeled it downward. The skin beneath was pale and unmarked by the magic eating away at her forearm. At the elbow the leather fell away as though the sleeve had only ever reached that far. The rest of her armor and her glove had been consumed. 

In a flash, Dorian recalled a moment from long ago - years now. He and Dove had been drinking at the Herald’s Rest. Vhenaria was watching the then Warden Blackwall and Cullen at a nearby table, trading war stories. Her love for the Big Man was evident. He looked up and caught her gaze. He smiled warmly, winked, and returned to his conversation. Vhenaria beamed at him.

Then her expression changed. She had looked down at the sickening green mark in the palm of her hand. ‘I wish it were gone, Dorian,’ she had said sadly, ‘Some days, I want to cut the whole hand off and be done. I never wanted to be part of the Inquisition. Blackwall and I could build a house in the Hinterlands, take in a couple of these refugee children. Just be.’

‘And let the world just fall to pieces? I fear I am too fond of good wine and your companionship to allow that,’ Dorian had taken her hand and looked closely at the mark. ‘I hope it doesn’t come to that, Dove. Though if it does...’ he paused. They had talked about the Anchor often. He had spent hours in the library trying to figure out how to save her hand. Growing more and more sure it couldn’t be done. Dorian had folded her fingers closed and gently kissed her knuckles, ‘I’ll be there.’

But this was not what Dorian had in mind. Better to have her someplace - clean. She should be magically sedated. Additional safeguards to control the loss of blood. She should be - safe. He looked down at her hand again. Her fingers were gone and the the stub of what had been her hand was disintegrating now. Dorian was aware of Thom’s gaze boring into him, but he looked squarely at Vhenaria, ‘Dove, it’s time.’

‘Now?’ she asked in a whisper, ‘Not here.’ Shaking her head, trying to think through the pain. _My hand. How do you hold a dagger without a hand? Thom can’t see this. He won’t be able to unsee. It wasn’t supposed to be like this._ All the times she’d considered cutting off that hand, she’d never really wanted to do it. An angry thought on bad days, understood as a last resort in the depths of the night. Solas had said she would live in peace. A few more years. Until he destroyed the world. Solas had said a lot of things. Claimed to be Fen’haral. Admitted that the orb that had begun this whole mess belonged to him. He had not just been lying since they met, but deliberately leading her astray. Solas. Fen’haral. Whoever he was, she couldn’t trust him. But she could trust Dorian. ‘Are you sure?’ 

Vhenaria tried to look at the hand but Dorian caught her chin and wouldn’t let her. He knew that if she looked she’d probably faint dead away but as much as that would make it easier for him, she would never get the image of that black and fingerless hand encased in crackling green fire out of her mind. Dorian could just see where tendrils of black were beginning to grow up her arm. ‘Yes, My Sweet Dove, but I am here. Just as I promised.’ He looked at her and smiled his reassurance. 

Dorian grabbed the pin holding his cloak with the other hand. He ripped the fabric from his shoulders and gave it to Bull, ‘I need a tourniquet, Amatus. Quickly.’ Bull took the cloth and started to rip a strip of cloth from its edge. Dorian glanced at the Qunari. His face was hard, his eyes far away. ‘Bull?’ Dorian addressed him cautiously. 

‘Just tell me what you need,’ Bull had realized what was about to happen and that he was the one that was going to have to strike the blow. He had once told Cole that to be a good fighter he had to separate himself from the fact that his targets were people. Nevermind that he loved the Boss as much as he loved his own men. Bull was keenly aware that he wouldn’t have Dorian if it wasn’t for The Boss. She had shown Dorian his own value as a person and as a friend. Bull trusted her and respected her. But not right now. For the next few minutes she would have to be a thing. A chore to be dealt with. Later there would be drinking.

Thom looked. He’d seen plenty of horrible things during his life as a soldier. And this wasn’t nearly close to the worse thing. Except that it was Her. The hand with the Anchor was nearly gone. Black lines like infection were advancing up her arm. Slowly, but fast enough to be frightening. If it didn’t stop at the elbow they would have to take the arm at the shoulder. Thom put his hand on her left cheek and turned her face into his neck, wishing that he could switch places with her. He looked at Dorian, ‘We don’t have much time.’

‘I’ll have to stop the bleeding by-’ Dorian glanced at her, shaking and trying not to scream. Dorian opened his hand and a small blue-hot flame danced on his palm.

‘Understood,’ Thom said grimly. He hoped that for once in their lives she wouldn’t surprise him. He prayed to the Maker that the shock from the blow would be too much and she would pass out. ‘Do you need me to-’

‘Just hold her still,’ Bull’s voice was flat. The tourniquet was already tightly tied and Bull stood ready, the huge axe Dagna and Vhenaria had made for him poised over his head. 

Thom rolled Vhenaria flat against the the ground. She was crying and her fingers grasped the top of his back plate so tightly he couldn’t have let go of her if he’d wanted to. ‘I’ve got you, My Lady. I’m right here,’ somehow he managed to say the words softly. Calmly. 

Dorian tried not to think about what he was about to do. He didn’t want to touch her arm. Didn’t want to put his hand into that green flame, but he had to hold it still. Her hand was gone and when he grasped what was left of her wrist, he felt the muscle crumble beneath his fingers. He was holding not much more than bone. ‘Amatus,’ Dorian said weakly, ‘Don’t miss.’ 

Bull did not answer. _One stroke. Aim through the target. Do not miss. Keep them safe. All of them. This keeps The Boss safe._ The axe sliced through the Inquisitor’s elbow easily and buried itself in the ground. She screamed. Her body convulsed and then fell limp. Bull grabbed the axe handle closer to the head and yanked it free. He tossed the weapon aside and grabbed what remained of The Boss’ arm. Blood flowed into the grass, ‘Dorian, hurry.’ Bull was back and he was scared for her. 

Dorian realized that the thing he was holding was no longer connected to Dove. He tossed the limb aside in horror. Thom felt the arm Vhenaria was holding him with let go. _Thank the Maker, she’s out._ He put a hand on her chest. She was still breathing. Bull held the stump of her arm and Dorian cauterized it with hot blue flame. The smell of burnt flesh made Thom dizzy for a moment. He resisted the spots in front of his eyes. Passing out was not an option. He took her hand in his. ‘I’m here,’ he didn’t realize he was saying it out loud. ‘I’m right here, My Lady.’ 

It was done. The bleeding stopped. Bull rose and took a few long paces away from the scene. He let out a wordless yell. Then - ‘We were chasing Solas! Did he do this to her? When I find that elf……Fuck!’ 

Dorian crawled a couple feet away. His stomach was turning over. He struggled not to be sick. Dorian closed his eyes and willed himself to maintain control. He stood and looked around. The arm was gone. Nothing left but a pile of ashes. His ruined cape lay to one side. Their weapons scattered across the stony ground. Rainier bent over Dove, holding her hand and murmuring softly. Tears in his beard. Dorian’s heart lurched in his chest, his heart broken for them both. ‘Let’s get her back to the Winter Palace,’ he said unsteadily. 

Bull sheathed his axe and collected Rainier’s discarded weapons, ‘I know the way,’ he said.

Thom lifted Vhenaria into his arms, Dorian helped him gain his feet, and they headed down the stairs toward the Eluvian. _We’re alive,_ Dorian thought, _She is alive and that’s the most important thing._

He hoped Dove would agree. 

  



End file.
